Charge forming device



1934- w. s. FALCONER I 1,983,357

CHARGE FORMING DEVICE Filed Ju ne 12, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 zwvinfoe; WILL/HM Srunnr Fm ao/vc/q Dec. 4,1934; w. s. FALCONER CHARGE FORMING DEVICE Filed June 12, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN'VENTORZ WI LmMS uHRr TucoNM H rronuzy Patented Dec. 4, 1934 uNiTEu srA'rss CHARGE FORMING DEVICE William Stuart Falconer, Preston East, near Melbourne, Victoria,

Australia, assignor to International Motor Patents Proprietary Limrted, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, a company of Victoria Application June 12, 1934, Serial No. 730,184 In Australia June 28, 1933 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improved apparatus for saving oil vapor and unused gas from the sumps and valve casings of internal combustion engines, and preheating, humidifying and dilut- 5 ing with exhaust gas the fuel charge on its way and in its course through the induction manifold. In internal combustion engines, particularly those of the type used in automobile vehicles operating with volatile oil fuels, a certain portion of the gaseous fuel escapes past the pistons in unburnt condition and finds exit to atmosphere together with lubricating oil vapor. and mist through the sump breather, the joints in the valve casings, and the shaft bearing clearances.

'15 Also a certain amount of the vaporized fuel becomes dissolved in the lubricating oil, diluting it and diminishing its lubrication quality.

In the attachment which is the subject of this invention these losses of unburnt utilizable fuel are ofiset by bringing it into the induction circuit in intimate admixture with the air-gas mixture which is delivered from the carburetter thereby utilizing them for their fuel value. Additionally, it provides means for introducing water vapor into the mixture and for a determinable dilution of the mixture with air and also with hot gas drawn from the exhaust, and for preheating them.

In the accompanying drawings:- Figs. 1 and 2 represent halved sectional elevational views of the attachment taken at 90 positions;

Fig. 3 shows the attachment as it appears mounted upon and connected up to the engine assembly.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 11 is a body casing, and 12 an inner casing forming a chamber within it surrounded by an annular cavity and formed with a downwardly contracting cone foot 13 terminating in a tubular extension 14. The inner casing 12 is supported by a flange 15 on the body casing 11. On the lower end of the body casing is a flange 16 having a depending hollow bulbous pocket 17 in it with the tubular extension 14 depending within and spaced from it. The inner casing 12 is surrounded by an annular clearance space and it contacts with the outer casing 11 at three outlets 19, 20 and 21 with shaped collars 18, having apertures extending through them in register to receive the mouths of flanged nipples 19, 20 and 21, all of which communicate with the interior of the inner casing 12.

The annular space between the inner casing and the interior of the outer casing is connected through a port 23 in the outer casing by a down- 55comer 24 leading to the induction manifold 58 of the engine through a forked connection (see dotted lines in Fig. 3). The downoomer 24 is held in position by a bolt 26 which is tapped into the inner casing at 25, the bolt being flattened and drilled at 27 to allow the stem of a spring loaded valve 28 to pass down through it. This valve spring is adjustable for tension to control the opening of the valve appropriately in obedience to the induction depression.

A connection 31 on the upper flange of the casing 11 has its inner opening lineable with an adjusting valve 32 turnable by the knurled head 33. This connection 31 is connected by a pipe line fitted with a cook 44 to the head of the steam space in the radiator 43. A valve 34 retained on its seat by an adjustable spring 37 is provided toipass air from atmosphere through apertures 36 to the interior of the inner casing 12, the valve more or less opening against the spring loading, responsively to depression within the casing 12. The bulbous member 1'7 which forms the base of the outer casing 11 is screwed into an aperture 41 in the exhaust manifold 42. From the exhaust manifold 42, through a cook 46 and pipe 47 some exhaust gas is drawn into the inner casing 12 through the nipple 20. From the crank sump at 48 a pipe 49 conveys fuel and oil vapor and mist to the casing 12 through the nipple 19, and from the valve casing 50 on the engine block side or head at 51 a pipe 52 conveys oil vapor to the inner casing 12 through the nipple 21. These various vapors and mists mix inside the inner casing 12 and pass down through the tubular extension 14 at the foot of it and become heated in the bulb 17 which being exposed to the high temperature of the exhaust gases from the engine passing along the exhaust manifold 42 becomes a hot spot. Heat is also taken through the metal of the exhaust manifold at the screw thread 41. While being thus heated, gases pass through the restricted annulus 56 between the depending tube 14 and the bulb l7, and thence out through the port 23 to the downoomer 24, past the valve 28, to the branched pipe 57, to the intake manifold 58.

The carburetter 59 may be of any conventional type, with its head connected as usual into the induction manifold. The butterfly valve in the carburetter air inlet throat is controlled by a bell crank lever 62-64 which is articulated through a lost motion pin and slot arrangement 66 to a lever 6'7 controlling a butterfly valve 68 in the pipe 57. At the starting of the engine the butterfly valve 68 remains closed. When the engine is running on open throttle the valve 68 is opened proportionately to the throttle opening and the adjusted mixture of heated vapors already described is then drawn through the bifurcated pipe 57 into the intake manifold 28 in which it mixes with the mixture which comes from the carburetter.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for the purposes set forth comprising a casing chamber having a bulb bottom extension adapted to depend through an aperture in the engine exhaust manifold so as to absorb heat from exhaust gases therein, a mixing cham ber with surrounding clearance within the casing chamber, an open contracted bottom end on said mixing chamber depending into said bulb, a spring loaded air admission valve in the head of said mixing chamber, four pipe connections extending through said casing into said mixing chamber and adapted respectively for connection to the exhaust circuit, to the radiator head, to the engine sump, and to the engine valve casing, a valve in the radiator head connection and a spring loaded delivery Valve in a connection from the clearance space within the casing chamber to the inlet manifold of the engine.

2. Apparatus for the purposes set forth, Wherein sump and valve casing vapors, atmospheric air, exhaust gas, and water vapor are intermixed in a chamber having a bulbous hot spot below a vent in the foot of it, said chamber contained Within and delivering into the bottom of a casing which is fitted with a spring loaded valved neck adapted to be connected to the inlet manifold of an engine, substantially as described.

WILLIAM STUART FALCONER. 

